Thirty-one high school students from across Worcester County awarded $50,000 in grants to 11 local nonprofit organizations this week, marking the culmination of their participation in Greater Worcester Community Foundation’s Youth for Community Improvement program.

Running for more than 25 years, YCI is a youth-led grantmaking program that empowers students to address pressing community needs through philanthropy. Thanks to sponsorship from Webster Five, this year’s cohort was able to award a record amount of funding.

YCI continues to empower young people across Worcester County by giving them a voice and autonomy in funding decisions. This program helps students work together through differences in perspectives while developing critical leadership skills.

- Pete Dunn, President & CEO of Greater Worcester Community Foundation

As part of the YCI program, which runs September through March, participants work together to identify four priority area for funding. This year’s areas of focus included educational resources, health & wellbeing, basic needs such as housing and food, and environmental action. All grant proposals were required to authentically incorporate youth voice.

At the group’s year-end celebration, each participant spoke highly of their experience and the ways in which the program helped them grow.

Before starting YCI, I wasn't sure how much of an impact one person could make in our community. However, through [this experience], I came to the conclusion that leadership isn't about having all the right answers, but rather, leadership is being willing to ask the right questions. This program pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me to realize that I am capable of creating real change.

- Justin LaPorte, Saint Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High School

This year’s grant recipients include:

  • Andy's Attic: $5,000 to support the Winter Clothing Drive, which will provide warm and comfortable clothing to individuals in the greater Worcester region.
  • Blackstone Valley Education Foundation: $4,000 to the STEAM Unfiltered Conference, a student-led initiative that brings middle school students face-to-face with real-world STEAM careers.
  • Community Health Awareness Network Grows Equity (CHANGE): $2,000 to support their Summer Youth Leadership Program for African immigrant youth.
  • Legendary Legacies, Inc.: $5,000 to support the purchase, assembly, and distribution of Welcome Home Bags for individuals returning from incarceration in Worcester County.
  • Meryl's Safe Haven: $5,000 for Project Cool Gear, purchasing seasonal clothing for the young adults in their Transitional Youth Empowerment Program.
  • Refugees & Immigrants Cultural Empowerment Massachusetts: $5,000 to Culinary GiveBack, a youth-led summer program with hands-on cooking and food preparation sessions.
  • Regional Environmental Council, Inc.: $4,000 for Guns2Garden YouthGROW Partnership, bringing youth to Artisan’s Asylum to experience a wide range of fabrication techniques.
  • Rise Above Foundation: $5,000 to provide enriching activities for young adults in foster care in Worcester.
  • Total Woman Victory: $5,000 to support the planning and hosting of the Total Woman Victory Feminist Conference.
  • Worcester Center for Performing Arts (Hanover Theatre): $2,000 to the Worcester Youth Speak Honestly program, fostering leadership and creative agency through the arts.
  • Worcester Youth Cooperatives Inc.: $5,000 for a Emergency Rapid Response project that supports displaced youth and unhoused community members.

About Youth for Community Improvement

In its 27th year, Youth for Community Improvement is a youth-led program managed by the Greater Worcester Community Foundation. Through YCI, high school students come together to identify community concerns they are passionate about and provide grants to nonprofit organizations striving to address these issues. Collaboratively, they engage in community research, develop and implement grant programs, establish evaluation criteria, and expand their network of peers while gaining exposure to local leaders.